Former players slam Dhoni's tactics

'Captain Cool' until some time ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is in the line of fire now with former players today questioning his tactics in the narrow loss to England which led to India's shock exit from the T20 WC.

Right from his decision to bowl first to sending Ravindra Jadeja up the order at number four ahead of Yuvraj Singh, former players slammed the "gambles" taken by Dhoni in what was a do-or-die match last night.

Legendary spinner E A S Prasanna said compared to Jadeja, even Harbhajan Singh would have been a better choice for the number four position.

"In a crucial tie like this, Dhoni shouldn't have put England in after winning the toss, it was a mistake. I don't think our batting order was right. Sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj and Dhoni himself was a mistake.

"In this format, the opening pair is required to give a good foundation for others to carry on but we didn't get that.

Former Test cricketer Arun Lal was equally critical of Dhoni's leadership in the crunch match.

"Sending Jadeja up the order smacked of overconfidence and defensiveness," he fumed.

Another former player V B Chandrashekhar said Jadeja should not even have been in the side in the first place.

"Dhoni's strategy to make England bat first was wrong and picking Ravindra Jadeja in place of Pragyan Ojha was yet another mistake. I also feel Harbhajan Singh did not give his best in the match," Chandrashekar said.

"The decision to send Jadeja up the order ahead of Yuvraj Singh was also baffling because he had not played in the tournament.

"We should have gone for a technically sound stroke-maker like Sachin Tendulkar. Our top three batsmen did not give the right platform for others to build on," Chandrasekhar rued.

India's 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev, however, refused to react to the defeat as he mourned the recent death of his mother.

"I am off cricket. Due to the death of my mother, I have not following cricket. So, I am not in a position to give my reaction," he said.

Madan Lal, however, defended Dhoni's decision to field first and blamed it on a lack of intensity among the players.

"It is rather unfortunate, 154 was not a difficult target to chase. Dhoni gambled by putting England in first. Even I would have done that. In my opinion, our game plan and top order batsmen did not click.

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi dedicated his inspiring performances in the T20 WC triumph to victims of the conflict in his troubled nation.
"Throughout the world cup I only thought about winning this for those people who have been affected by terrorism in our country," Afridi told reporters on Wednesday.